Cary Moon extends 2nd-place lead in Seattle mayoral primary election

SEATTLE — Cary Moon extended her second-place lead over Nikkita Oliver in the Seattle mayoral primary election Thursday. Moon said the counts “look very good” as she tries to advance to face primary winner Jenny Durkan in the Nov. 7 general election.

However, she did not claim victory. More ballots would be counted and results released Friday afternoon.

In updated election results Thursday afternoon, Moon had 23,417 votes (16.72%) while Oliver had 20,839 votes (14.88%). That’s a difference of 2,578 votes. Moon held about a 1,400 lead over Oliver in initial results Monday and extended that to about a 2,000 vote lead Tuesday and now holds about a 2,600 vote lead.

Durkan, the former U.S. attorney in Seattle, won the primary over 20 other candidates. She was winning with 30.19% of the vote on Thursday.

So Durkan advances to the Nov. 7 general election. It appears likely will be facing off against Moon, an urban planner.

“Today’s ballot counts look very good; we’re still on the right track to make it to the general election this fall and we are ready to confront the challenges facing our city — together,” Moon said Thursday in a news release. “We’re not yet claiming victory. As an engineer, I want to make sure we have our facts right.”

According to The Seattle Times, machine recounts are mandatory when candidates are separated by fewer than 2,000 votes and also less than 0.5 percent of the total votes cast for both candidates. Manual recounts are mandatory when the gap is fewer than 1,000 votes and also less than 0.25 percent of the total votes cast for both candidates. But candidates also can request recounts.

In the Tacoma mayoral primary election, architect Jim Merritt held a slight lead (9,863 votes or 39.34%) and will likely face former Tacoma City Councilwoman Victoria Woodards (9,277 votes or 37%) in the Nov. 7 general election. The third candidate, Evelyn Lopez, was back at 23.66% of the vote.

In the Everett mayoral primary election, City Councilwoman Cassie Franklin was leading Thursday with 4,167 votes or 31.62%. Her council colleague, Judy Tuohy, had 3,892 votes or 29.53%. But close behind her was Brian Sullivan, with 3,825 votes or 29.02%.